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Wednesday, October 28, 2015

10 Chocolate Recipes Perfect for Fall

From perfectly spiced to pumpkin infused to chocolate candy filled, you are sure to find a chocolate dessert recipe today to celebrate fall in these

10 Chocolate Recipes Perfect for Fall...

Today is National Chocolate Day so it only seemed appropriate that I share this collection of chocolate recipes perfect for fall with you all today. But today's post isn't just about celebrating and sharing my love for all things chocolate with you all. Today's post is also about celebrating the life of my friend and fellow food blogger, Joan of Chocolate, Chocolate and More. When Joan died suddenly of a heart attack last week, the food blogging community I am a part of was shocked and shattered. Joan had been a pillar of our community, a friend, a smart business woman, and a bright light to all who knew her.

Though I had known Joan from the online food blogger groups I am part of for years, I finally had the pleasure and honor of meeting this southern firecracker in person at the Food & Wine Conference this past July. In fact after coming back late from a break between sessions on the Saturday of that weekend, I found myself quickly grabbing an empty seat near the back of the room. It wasn't until after I sat down that I realized my new neighbor was Joan. THE Joan from Chocolate, Chocolate and More. I have to admit that I found myself a little starstruck. Joan had reached a level of food blogging that had inspired so many of us. She was one of those "bigger bloggers". I had no doubt that she would at least say hello to me, but I didn't expect much else. I mean, I wasn't even close to being in her league as far as blogging was concerned. Much to my surprise, Joan started chatting with me like we were old friends. She knew exactly who I was and was familiar with my blog. Wait... my blog?? Joan didn't see bloggers as big or small, successful or new. She just saw us all as food bloggers, recipe creators, photographers who loved the food that we made and had a passion to share that with the world....

Joan is going to be missed by so many of us in the food blogging community, but she also leaves behind her three children. Like I said earlier, Joan was a smart business woman. So smart that she already had a plan a place for her blog should she die. She wants for Chocolate, Chocolate and More to continue on and be her legacy to and a way to provide for her children for years to come. Those of us who knew and loved her- whether in person or only online- have vowed to help her family continue her dream.

Today I celebrate Joan. Today I celebrate her love and passion for chocolate and for life. Please join me today by taking a moment to browse these 10 Chocolate Recipes Perfect for Fall- many of them being Joan's creations. From perfectly spiced to pumpkin infused to chocolate candy filled, you are sure to find a chocolate dessert recipe today to celebrate fall and to celebrate Joan. And if you have a little chocolate today, could you share it to social media with the hashtag #chocolateforjoan? :) Let's get her memory trending today.

Which of these perfect for fall chocolate recipes will you be trying first?

And here is one bonus chocolate recipe for you all! I won first place in the Dixie Crystals Chocolate Dessert recipe contest at the Food & Wine Conference this year with this recipe for Triple Chocolate Tiramisu. My dessert was served after the dinner to all the conference attendees, and Joan made her way to find me and congratulate me and offer me pointers and advice for leveraging my win. We spent a good hour together after dinner drinking wine and enjoying the chocolate desserts that were being offered. In fact, one of Joan's last messages to me on Facebook was about this tiramisu recipe- "I still dream of your mousse cake dessert from F&W." Coming from the queen of chocolate, that was a bigger compliment to me than winning the actual recipe contest. <3

I greatly appreciate each and every one of you who choose to share my recipes & posts via Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, & any other social media outlets. However, I do ask that you respect that the content on this blog belongs to me. Please do not re-post any of my material in it's entirety, partial or otherwise. If using one of my posts for inspiration for a post on your blog, I would greatly appreciate credit and a link back. Copyright 2016.